Police Corruption and the State Machine

Disclaimer:

Please note that I am not ‘anti-police’, ‘anti-medicine’ or ‘anti-government’.

This article is not intended to malign these institutions as a whole. It is intended to explore the issue of individual police officers, medical and psychiatric personnel, and government bureaucrats who are corrupt and abuse their power to further career, personal or other agendas.

I don’t doubt that the vast majority of police officers, medical and psychiatric personnel, and government bureaucrats are honest, decent, hard-working people with difficult jobs to do and do them ethically and exceedingly well.

The few that are corrupt, especially those in high places can do a great deal of damage not only to the targets of their corruption but to the institutions of policing, medicine, psychiatry and government as well. So this is a matter that should be of concern to those institutions as well as every individual member of those institutions.

I’ve been writing a lot about corruption lately. Probably because it really does permeate every aspect of our society.

Here in Canada, in my opinion, it’s gone to such extremes that we are now moving in line with the third world where it’s simply accepted and a given.

The only exception to this appears to be Quebec where some standards apparently do exist and recent attempts to engage in bribery and corruption have been exposed.

Montreal doctors accused of taking bribes

Ex-Laval mayor charged with gangsterism; 36 others arrested in sweep

Abuses uncovered at Montreal 'asylum' (1999)

Whether anything substantive comes out of these exposures in Quebec or whether they will simply fizzle out, allowing the corrupt to return to business as usual, remains to be seen but at least something is happening there.

Ontario, on the other hand ….

No probe into police corruption allegations

The reality is that much of this activity is already illegal. The problem isn’t that these acts aren’t recognized as illegal and often criminal acts.

The problem is that the processes in place are abused by those that society has provided with special trust like certain individual police officers, doctors, psychiatrists, psychologists, government bureaucrats, politicians, intelligence agents, etc. And they are abused to further corporate, political and even personal agendas of the members of the wealthy elite and their associates, agents of influence, et al.

You and I can’t abuse these processes. We’d get caught and go to jail. But the right people with the right connections and enough money, resources to back up their demands, certainly can and have done as evidenced by the articles provided.

We are also moving in line with some of the most fascist and authoritarian states in history and the strategies they used to keep the populace from rebelling against the injustices heaped on them with impunity. Note that these strategies were also used by members of the elite to target individuals for personal reasons.

Punitive psychiatry—some debate in USA about who is and who isn't sane Or Even a paranoid has some real enemies

Concerns of Punitive Psychiatry as Government Tactic in Russia

For example, one well known and respected social activist in Toronto, has been explicitly told by a member   of the TPS that they are mentally ill. Why? Because they’re engaging in legitimate dissent. Although I’m sure the individual officer making that vile claim won’t give that as the explanation. Irrespective how they rationalize it, such claims effectively take the position that it’s ‘delusional’ to think that we have some serious problems in the political and social system we live in that are crying out to be resolved.

I don’t doubt that those particular members of the TPS who advocate this fascist and rather authoritarian position would love to do the following and we may yet see that happen in Canada, if it hasn’t happened already without our knowledge:

Kazakhstan Journalist at Risk of Forcible Psychiatric Treatment

A new psychiatric disorder has even been invented to deal with the ‘problem’ of social activists engaging in legitimate dissent, called Oppositional Defiant Disorder.

No doubt that anyone who disputes a police officer’s testimony in a court room must be delusional or mentally ill because a police officer would never perjure themselves on the stand or provide unreliable testimony for any reason now would they? And if they did we would hold them accountable for that criminal act and for betraying the special trust we’ve provided to them wouldn’t we?

Peel officers who ‘lied under oath’ won’t face criminal charges

According to this article, yes some police officers do lie under oath and no we don't always hold them accountable.

A police officer would never threaten citizens with frame-ups and false arrests now would they?

Police officer threatens to beat up man and plant cocaine on him, video shows

Apparently they would and no doubt this has actually happened to others by police officers who were lucky enough not to have been exposed on video.

Despite this reality, our Justice System, when dealing with anything from the most serious crimes to the most minor traffic infractions takes the police officer’s word as gospel when there’s a direct conflict between what the police officer says and what the defendant says.

Just like the Medical and Psychiatric system takes the word of it’s professionals as gospel when there’s a direct conflict.

Or, the government bureaucracy takes word of it’s civil servants as gospel when there’s a direct conflict.

One can argue that the defendant should have evidence to support their claims. This is true.

However, how does one defend themselves (by getting that evidence) when the police officer lies in court and the defendant is unaware that they are going to do this? Or, when Medical/Psychiatric professionals and government bureaucrats lie in Hearings and the defendant is unaware that they are going to do this?

Even if the defendant is aware that lies will be told, unless the defendant knows what lies will be told how are they to get the evidence and be properly prepared to defend themselves?

Under those circumstances, they can’t. The other side, the side that’s lying, has the unfair advantage in this system no matter which bureaucracy one is dealing with.

And since one is dealing with professionals who are lying and know the system far better than their victims, one can be sure they’ve done what they think they need to do to cover their tracks. Or, at least try to cover their tracks.

One can also argue that those professionals should also have evidence to support their claims but our system doesn’t require that they do and if they do provide evidence our system doesn’t require that it be vetted in circumstances where the word of the professional contradicts the word of the defendant.

One can hire a lawyer to ensure that evidence is provided and is vetted but even that doesn’t protect the defendant if the lawyer also doesn’t know what lies will be told and what evidence will be fabricated. The lawyer has the same disadvantage the defendant has.

As a result, it’s rare for any kind of corruption to be exposed in Canada because the state machine itself is corrupt. When it is exposed, I suspect that it’s probably because some member of the wealthy elite is ticked off at another member of the wealthy elite so out of pure spite or revenge they reveal the other’s dirty laundry. They are the only one’s who could do this and get away with it without any repercussions. Whichever one has the better connections wins. Or, a deal is negotiated behind the scenes and the scandal conveniently disappears from the air waves while the state machine looks for a way to rationalize it’s way of the situation.

Seriously. How many Canadian scandals have just disappeared into the woodwork suddenly and nothing more is heard about them? There is no follow up on how the issues were resolved assuming they were or not. This occurs no matter how irrefutable the evidence is or how strong the case is.

The solution to this sort of systemic corruption is quite simple. The professional's word should not be accepted as gospel under any circumstances. When there is a conflict in testimony there should be an automatic investigation into both the claims made by the professional and the claims made by the defendant. 

A process like this would protect everyone's rights because it would deter liars who would then also have to fabricate evidence and it would protect those telling the truth who can back up their claims. 

That won't stop evidence and witness tampering, etc. but those things would harder to set up and it would be easier for the liars to get caught in their lies when the evidence is being vetted rather than just accepted as automatically true because a police officer, doctor, mental health professional, government bureaucrat, etc. says so.

A process like this would give the ordinary citizen a fighting chance at standing up to corrupt professionals who abuse their power.

I have recently run into a personal situation where precisely the above has occurred and the entire drama is circulating around a minor traffic ticket I was issued for an offence I didn’t commit.

Details about that story in tomorrows blog.

“There's a time when the operation of the machine becomes so odious—makes you so sick at heart—that you can't take part. You can't even passively take part. And you've got to put your bodies upon the gears and upon the wheels, upon the levers, upon all the apparatus, and you've got to make it stop. And you've got to indicate to the people who run it, to the people who own it that unless you're free, the machine will be prevented from working at all.” ― Mario Savio

I'm not advocating that we shut the machine down. I still think it can be fixed. I hope I'm right.

Abuse of Power and the Corruption of Justice

There's a saying that 'power corrupts'. I don't believe that is the case. 

History has shown that people do exist who are not only not corrupt but when they attain power they respect the populace and exercise the power entrusted in them judiciously. 

This honorable aspect of human history is best enshrined by our Whistleblowers. The people who often are in positions of power, attempts are made to corrupt them or they are pressured to 'go along to get along' and they resist by exposing the corruption.

The corrupt and morally bankrupt consider those who expose their wrongdoings 'rats'.

However, the difference between the 'rat' and the whistleblower is fundamental.

A Rat is a person who is corrupt and morally bankrupt and who abuses his/her position to inflict harm where no wrongdoing has occurred. Their 'exposures' are most often lies intended to blackmail or bully others into silence or submission or create smokescreens that divert attention from the real issue.

A Whistleblower is a person who has ethical standards and will expose wrongdoing often at their own expense because the Rats are then called on to attack the Whistleblower and create a smokescreen to cover up and divert attention from the wrongdoing.

The reality is that the corrupt and morally bankrupt are attracted to positions of power because their intent from the start is to abuse their power.

The only way this can succeed is if the other halls of power like the Justice system has also been corrupted and allows them to engage in these abuses of power with impunity.

We've seen this partnership of the corrupt with the corrupted justice system and how it operates first hand in the way that the legal cases involving Julian Assange, Aaron Schwartz, Jeremy Hammond, and Bradley Manning are playing out and the impact that these abuses have had on their personal lives.

We've also seen the silence of the traditional media in the face of the outrageous violations of the civil rights of each and every one of these people.

The only way that these injustices can be stopped is by those who are ethical taking our power back.

This can be done in various ways.

Assange is running for election in Australia. Make sure he gets elected.

Don't vote for parties or politicians with a lot of money backing them who have obviously been corrupted. No the deals aren't written down. That would be illegal. The agreements are implicit and acknowledged by both sides.

Pay attention to the courts and judiciary and what they are doing. Require that all proceedings be televised and monitored so that back door injustices are reduced.

There are unethical members of the Psychiatric and Psychology communities who are starting to promote fabricated mental illnesses like 'oppositional defiance disorder' or intentionally misdiagnosing social activists as 'mentally ill'. Pay attention to this development. 

To be continued ....

Support #OpCISPABLACKOUT

Corruption and the Corrupt Among Us

NOTE: This blog post is based on a lesson learned in a recent experience with corruption and where I was morally culpable and effectively complicit by remaining silent about it. In the end, the corrupt exposed themselves while falsely accusing me of exposing them and falsely accusing me of harassing them. Neither of which I did. While the impact of this was small in the scheme of things, I believe it was an important lesson for me to learn and to share with others.

We have a serious problem today with corruption that permeates every single part of our society. The only real difference between the corruption engaged in by the “little” guy and the corruption engaged in by the wealthy elite is the impact it has on numbers of people.

The “little” guy who engages in corruption will have a negative impact on a small group of individuals or a social group. Many social activist and charitable groups are targeted by elements like this. They think they can take advantage of the good intentions of the group to further personal agendas often involving fraud not only against the targets of the fraud but against participants of the social group who make the mistake of participating, based on misrepresented good intentions . The personal financial gain of the corrupt individual instigating such campaigns is usually the ultimate goal.

How many charitable agencies have been defrauded out of their incomes in recent years? Many in Canada. The British Columbia SPCA were robbed in precisely this way by one of their own, their accountant.

How many well known social activists are targeted by smear campaigns and lies by those in their own circles? Many as well. Kevin Annett is one such example.

The atheistic communities have also been targeted by corrupt elements like this in recent years. Elements whose only agenda is to fabricate false dramas upon which they can build personal careers on the backs of and financially exploit the generosity of these communities. To accomplish this much disruption and numerous smear campaigns have occurred at their hands against individuals who have merit and have won the respect of these communities through both their actions and their words.

Then there are those who are less well known and where the corrupt individuals engaging in their disruptions are less experienced but using the same bullying and harassment strategies in an effort to destroy the reputations of innocent people.

Note I have no problem with these strategies being used to destroy the corrupt who have demonstrated their corruption and it’s provable. The issue here is that they’re being used against those who are fighting corruption and are innocent. A tangled web of deceit is weaved to cover up these corrupt activities and others are drawn in to conceal making them complicit.

On a larger scale, but with the same psychology of corruption at play, are the bankers who manipulate our global economies and governments to further their personal financial gain. This is done while demanding the implementation of policies which are ensuring the destruction of our economy and social and financial oppression of the populace who are effectively being robbed to further this end. They also use the same strategies to destroy the reputations of those who stand up to them or threaten their profit driven projects in any way.

Corruption is corruption and it’s end is always the same no matter what the means. There is personal gain for someone, somewhere in the mix at the expense of others. And this corruption is firmly founded on the morally bankrupt principle that the “ends justifies the means.”

Our world has become so corrupt that not even our governments, police and other state institutions that are supposed to be there to protect the citizen and work on our behalf can be trusted to do their jobs.

That’s not to say that everyone is corrupt amongst the rich and the poor (and everyone in between) nor would it be right to say that entire governments and their agencies are corrupt. Not in my opinion anyway.

I don’t believe that’s the case. In my opinion, there are those amongst the wealthy elite who do operate on ethical values and principles much like many of us “little” people and there are those both in government and state agencies like police and intelligence agencies who take their jobs seriously; operate on ethical values and principles and are genuinely attempting to serve and protect the citizens who pay their salaries.

We just don’t hear about these people and it’s often these people who are the one’s that get targeted, bullied and harassed out of their jobs and communities by the corrupt who are being lauded to the skies and receiving merit badges, awards and other honours for the privilege of having been bought or influenced by the right corrupt side.

On top of it all, when it comes to corruption, many of us remain silent in the face of it. Why do we do that? There are a lot of reasons for that, some personal, some social. Whatever our reasons the end result is that we become complicit in the corruption and enable it to continue if we don’t take a stand against it.

The Blue Code of police officers ensured that Christopher Dorner, a whistleblower, was persecuted out of his job and ultimately murdered by his own colleagues. At least I consider it murder. No doubt that some will find that debatable. I do not.

The numerous government cover ups of unethical and often illegal criminal activity that have been exposed after years and years are also testimony to this fact that even those innocent of any actual crime are not coming forward to expose these crimes.

It’s not surprising that Whistleblowers are finding that they are not receiving any protections when they blow the whistle on corruption because it’s the corrupt who have the power, money, and resources to ensure that they are persecuted irrespective of any legal rights they may or may not have.

Even at the lowest levels of corruption like that which occurs in the small groups in society, the benefit of doubt appears to go to the liars who continuously revise their stories, misrepresent and mischaracterize events/evidence in a self-serving manner, smear using demagogic propaganda techniques like guilt by association, recruiting “enemies” as well as bullying and harassment techniques like threats and intimidations.

So, how do we, the regular “little” people who have ethical standards and values break this cycle of corruption?

We have to take a stand everywhere we see it. At the lowest levels, in our personal interactions and at the highest levels in the corporations and institutions that are supposed to serve us.

That’s the only way we’ll put an end to it. It’s too pervasive and integrated into our culture for us to do it any other way.

We also have to start demanding valid evidence, evaluate it critically and not accept anyone’s word just based on reputation or friendship or age or whatever. We can always come up with rationalizations and excuses for remaining complicit in corruption. This will expose the liars who are attempting to cover up their corruption.

And we really need to stop putting ourselves in situations where we are complicit.

In Memoriam. Aaron Swartz

Click on the image to enlarge and read

Official Statement from the Family and Partner of Aaron Swartz:

Our beloved brother, son, friend, and partner Aaron Swartz hanged himself on Friday in his Brooklyn apartment. We are in shock, and have not yet come to terms with his passing.

Aaron’s insatiable curiosity, creativity, and brilliance; his reflexive empathy and capacity for selfless, boundless love; his refusal to accept injustice as inevitable—these gifts made the world, and our lives, far brighter. We’re grateful for our time with him, to those who loved him and stood with him, and to all of those who continue his work for a better world.

Aaron’s commitment to social justice was profound, and defined his life. He was instrumental to the defeat of an Internet censorship bill; he fought for a more democratic, open, and accountable political system; and he helped to create, build, and preserve a dizzying range of scholarly projects that extended the scope and accessibility of human knowledge. He used his prodigious skills as a programmer and technologist not to enrich himself but to make the Internet and the world a fairer, better place. His deeply humane writing touched minds and hearts across generations and continents. He earned the friendship of thousands and the respect and support of millions more.

Aaron’s death is not simply a personal tragedy. It is the product of a criminal justice system rife with intimidation and prosecutorial overreach. Decisions made by officials in the Massachusetts U.S. Attorney’s office and at MIT contributed to his death. The US Attorney’s office pursued an exceptionally harsh array of charges, carrying potentially over 30 years in prison, to punish an alleged crime that had no victims. Meanwhile, unlike JSTOR, MIT refused to stand up for Aaron and its own community’s most cherished principles.

Today, we grieve for the extraordinary and irreplaceable man that we have lost.
_____

Aaron’s funeral will be held on Tuesday, January 15 at Central Avenue Synagogue, 874 Central Avenue, Highland Park, Illinois 60035. Further details, including the specific time, will be posted at http://rememberaaronsw.com/, along with announcements about memorial services to be held in other cities in coming weeks.

Remembrances of Aaron, as well as donations in his memory, can be submitted at http://rememberaaronsw.com/

Merry Xmas and Happy Holidays!

art by Ray Blackbayou W

Book Review: CypherPunks: Freedom and the Future of the Internet

By JULIAN ASSANGE

With JACOB APPELBAUM, ANDY MÜLLER-MAGUHN
and JÉRÉMIE ZIMMERMANN

"Cypherpunks is gripping, vital reading, explaining clearly the way in which corporate and government control of the internet poses a fundamental threat to our freedom and democracy".  —Oliver Stone

"Obligatory reading for everyone interested in the reality of our freedoms." —Slavoj Zizek

"The power of this book is that it breaks a silence. It marks an insurrection of subjugated knowledge that is, above all, a warning to all." —John Pilger

Published by OR Books (Order by clicking the link)

Reading this book was, in many ways, a wake up call for me personally. Not because I didn’t already know that this was the direction the world was heading in but because it emphasized the speed at which the transitions were occurring, the seriousness of the impact of these transitions, and the urgency to act now.

I’m an Organized Stalking victim. One of those who have been subjected to Stasi-like malicious government, corporate, community, workplace, social and professional persecution for many years in Canada, extra-legally and often through criminal misappropriation of government funds. This has occurred at the hands of a retired CSIS member, while he worked for CSIS and continuing after his retirement. He is also a member of the wealthy Canadian elite and his family, friends, corporate whores and corrupt state bureaucrats and civil servants have engaged in criminal collusion in this campaign of continuous and ongoing harassment including physical and psychological abuse of my person, property, family and pets.

As a result I know first hand the dangers that face all of us when our privacy can be violated at will, our personal and professional lives invaded and disrupted, and when the lack of Transparency, Accountability and Justice at the highest levels of society allows the type of corruption that enables the wealthy to act extra-legally, with the criminal collusion of corrupt elements of the state and it’s institutions, and with the associated impunity. Especially when those individuals are text book Psychopaths.

So, the first thing I have to say about the CypherPunks books is that unless all of the good citizens of the world want to live the kind of life that has been imposed on me by this kind of corruption (and for no good reason that can be called by rational by any standard), I strongly suggest you read this book and act immediately and with conviction to change our current path.

What is that path? According to the Cypherpunks (and I agree), freedom of movement, freedom of speech and the free flow of information versus censorship and control of information, and financial freedom are the cornerstones.

The battle is between the corrupt and their minions amongst the wealthy elite who want to maintain their secrets so that their corruption and control of the population to prevent dissension against their corruption is enabled versus the citizens who want to maintain a transparent democracy where information and speech is free, individual rights including the right to privacy are inviolable, and the principles of true accountability and justice are upheld.

“JULIAN ASSANGE is the editor in chief of and visionary behind WikiLeaks. An original contributor to the Cypherpunk mailing list, Julian is now one of the most prominent exponents of cypherpunk philosophy in the world. His work with WikiLeaks has given political currency to the traditional cypherpunk juxtaposition: “privacy for the weak, transparency for the powerful.” While his most visible work involves robust exercise of the freedom of expression to force transparency and accountability on powerful institutions, he is also an incisive critic of state and corporate encroachment upon the privacy of individuals.”

Having been a lurker on the old alt.cypherpunks news group in the late 1990s, I already have some familiarity with the philosophy. And no truer words were spoken than when someone, somewhere (I don’t recall where I read it or heard it) stated something along the lines of “yesterday’s conspiracy theory is today’s reality”. Much of what was discussed on alt.cypherpunks has, today, become a general reality and the path we’re heading down is a dangerous one for the people of the world.

These dangers are elucidated in detail and with a simple clarity in the Cypherpunks book. Presented in the context of the three basic freedoms defined by the Cypherpunks:

“And we can also think about this as three basic liberties. The liberty of freedom of movement, physical freedom of movement—your ability to travel from one place to another, to not have armed force deployed against you. We can think about the liberty of freedom of thought, and freedom of communication, which is inherently wrapped up in freedom of thought—if there’s a threat against you for speaking publicly, the only way to safeguard your right to communicate is to communicate privately. And finally, the freedom of economic interaction, which is also coupled, like the freedom of communication, to the privacy of economic interaction. So let’s speak about these ideas that have been brewing in the cypherpunks since the 1990s of trying to provide this very important third freedom, which is the freedom of economic interaction.”

And can be summarized in the form of threats to the above freedoms as:

1. Mass surveillance state, of which censorship like self-censorship is a by-product which impacts your freedom of movement (and association)
2. Control over the Internet, thereby including control and censorship over all information and communications
3. Centralization and control over all financial transactions

So what are the solutions? What can we as ordinary, every day joes and janes on the street do to protect ourselves from these attacks by the powerful and corrupt? The ones who have bought our governments and our states. The ones who are using them to impose their fascist dictates on us and treasonously undermining our democracies while thumbing their noses at our justice system and buying our judges to maintain their impunity over the law.

Personal Technical Solutions: 

1. Encryption
2. P2P
3. Bitcoins

Now read the book .

Other books by Julian Assange: 

Julian Assange (with Sulette Dreyfus). Underground, a history of the international hacker movement.

WikiLeaks Press Release: European Commission enabling blockade of WikiLeaks by U.S. hard-right Lieberman/King

European Commission enabling blockade of WikiLeaks by U.S. hard-right Lieberman/King, contrary to European Parliament’s wishes

Tuesday 27th November, 1300 GMT

European Commission documents released today by WikiLeaks show that hard-right U.S. politicians were directly behind the extrajudicial banking blockade against WikiLeaks. In the heavily redacted documents, MasterCard Europe admits that Senator Joseph Lieberman and Congressman Peter T. King both "had conversations" with MasterCard in the United States. Lieberman, the then-chair of the Senate Intelligence Committee, boasted of instigating Amazon's cutting of service to WikiLeaks - an action condemned by the Council of Europe's Committee of Ministers on 7 December 2011.

Senator Lieberman tried to introduce the SHIELD Act into the Senate and advocated for prosecuting the New York Times for espionage in connection with WikiLeaks' releases. Rep. Peter King, chair of the House Homeland Security Committee, tried to formally designate WikiLeaks as a foreign terrorist organization, have its staff listed as 'enemy combatants', and have WikiLeaks put on a U.S. Treasury blacklist. On 13 January 2011 the U.S. Treasury announced it would not do so because there was no evidence that WikiLeaks should be on such a list. While Lieberman and King were unsuccessful in these methods of legally cutting WikiLeaks from its popular donor base, they were successful in doing so extra-legally via VISA and MasterCard, which together hold a monopoly of 97 per cent of the market of EU card payments.

VISA Europe is registered in London and is owned by a consortium of European banks. MasterCard Europe is registered in Belgium and has similar ownership, but the Commission papers show that European control of VISA Europe and MasterCard Europe is a fiction. The papers reveal that the instructions to blockade WikiLeaks' operations in Europe came directly from VISA and MasterCard in the United States. Ownership would normally imply control, but VISA and MasterCard Europe are essentially controlled by confidential contracts with their U.S. counterparts, a hidden organizational structure that the Commission calls an "association of undertakings".

On Tuesday, 19 November 2012, the European Parliament took an important step towards safeguarding the economic sovereignty of all Europeans. In Article 32 of its resolution, the European Parliament expressed the will that the Commission should prevent the arbitrary refusal of payments by credit card companies, which economically strangles businesses and organizations, notably ours. The resolution is an important step to putting an end to the Lieberman/King blockade, which has wiped out 95 per cent of WikiLeaks' revenues. The Lieberman/King blockade has been directly condemned by, among others, the UN Special Rapporteur of Freedom of Speech and the New York Times Editorial Board. The blockade is a direct infringement of the Article 19 right to receive and impart information, and threatens all donor-funded organizations and the freedom of the press.

It comes as a surprise, then, that the European Commission is taking the contrary view in its preliminary decision, of not opening a formal investigation into VISA, MasterCard and AmEx's violations against DataCell, the company that collected donations to the WikiLeaks project until the imposition of the blockade in 2010. The Commission's 16-page preliminary decision has been announced after 15 months of deliberations. The 'normal' waiting time is four months. Yesterday, DataCell and WikiLeaks submitted detailed counter-arguments to the Commission's preliminary decision.

Through the leaked documents we learn that VISA and MasterCard have used a false statement by the Australian Prime Minister, Julia Gillard, to mislead the European Commission. The Prime Minister's statement, which she later claimed was made in her "private capacity", was that the WikiLeaks publication of diplomatic cables was "illegal". This was declared to be false by a subsequent investigation by the Australian Federal Police, which declared that WikiLeaks had not broken any Australian law. Earlier this year, the Australian Senate passed a resolution demanding the retraction of the Prime Minister's false statement.

The leaked documents reveal MasterCard's political stance to our exposure of the crimes and horrors of military campaigns: "It is evident that any affiliation with an organisation causing damage to the national interests of several nations involved in the wars in Afghanistan and Iraq... will be extremely damaging for the public perception of MasterCard".

Julian Assange said:

> There is no sovereignty without economic sovereignty. It is concerning that hard-right elements in the United States have been able to pressure VISA and MasterCard, who together hold monopoly over the European market, into introducing a blockade that the U.S. Treasury has rightly rejected. These unaccountable elements are directly interfering in the political and economic freedoms of EU consumers and are setting a precedent for political censorship of the world's media.

WikiLeaks will continue to fight the blockade, despite its limited resources, because it is fighting for its survival. Already there have been victories. In June 2012 WikiLeaks won its first court victory in Iceland against the Lieberman-King blockade. Last month WikiLeaks opened a new battle front by filing, together with its partner DataCell, a case against Teller A/S (VISA Denmark).

NOTE

The movement in Parliament and in the rest of Europe is to support WikiLeaks' publishing rights. The German foundation Wau Holland Stiftung (WHS), which collected donations for WikiLeaks via PayPal had their donations account arbitrarily shut down. The tax-exempt status of the Foundation was challenged as well, as a result of political interference which was exposed this month in Der Spiegel ("Taxing Transparency"). Yesterday, WHS announced that, after almost two years of negotiations with German tax authorities, its tax exemption (charitable status) has been reinstated. Citizens of all EU Member States will now be able to donate to WikiLeaks' operations through WHS and deduct the donation from their income tax.

*Additional information*:

UN Special Rapporteur on Right to Freedom of Opinion and Expression:http://www.oas.org/en/iachr/expression/showarticle.asp?artID=829&lID=1

Council of Europe - Declaration on online service providers:https://wcd.coe.int/ViewDoc.jsp?id=1883671&Site=CM

The Guardian Comment is Free (23 November 2012) by Glenn Greewald:http://www.guardian.co.uk/commentisfree/2012/nov/23/anonymous-trial-wikileaks-internet-freedom

Video: U.S. demands to assassinate Assange - http://youtube.com/watch?v=ZuQW0US2sJw

*Quote from Visa and MasterCard Submissions to the European Commission*

Visa's response to the European Central Bank:

> As you will no doubt be aware, in some jurisdictions, various stakeholders have questioned whether WikiLeaks is, in respect of some of the material it publishes, committing criminal acts. Our Operating Regulations prohibit the use of the Visa system for illegal purposes either in the jurisdiction of the merchant (in this case Iceland) or the jurisdiction of the cardholder (which could be anywhere in the world). It is possible that activities that are permitted in one jurisdiction may be illegal in others. Accordingly, the application of the relevant position under the Operating Regulations does not necessarily depend solely on Icelandic law.

> This position is appropriate and proportionate in light of the alleged unlawful conduct of WikiLeaks, which, among other sensitive material, in 2010 published and refuses to return large amounts of material stolen from classified US military databases. Further, according to recent press coverage, it appears that the leaking of sensitive information is continuing.

MasterCard's arguments to the European Commission:

> MasterCard does not hold a collective dominant position with Visa... It is also worth mentioning here that MasterCard does not constitute an 'essential facility', and therefore is under no obligation to provide its services to any particular undertakings.

> It is evident that any affiliation with an organisation causing damage to the national interests of several nations involved in the wars in Afghanistan and Iraq, and possibly putting lives needlessly at risk, will be damaging for the public perception of MasterCard and consequently damage MasterCard's goodwill or its [trade]Marks.

> By way of example, in 2004 MasterCard requested the Dutch acquirer, then 'Interpay Nederlands B.V.' (now 'Paysquare') to suspend the provision of acquiring services to merchants operating websites offering access to pornographic material including showing sexual acts with animals ('bestiality content').

> ...before taking its decision, MasterCard Incorporated did not have any contacts with public authorities, and therefore did not act upon request from any public authorities.

> MasterCard Incorporated had several conversations with the FBI, US Treasury and the Department of Homeland Security (DHS) about the possibility of such DDoS attacks.

> MasterCard Incorporated had conversations with certain Congressional staff (i.e. Chairman Lieberman and Chairman King's [Senate and House Homeland Security Chairs] staff)."

*European Parliament - on Card, Internet and mobile payments*

  Towards an integrated European market for card, internet and mobile payments - 20 November 2012

The European Parliament voted that the Commission introduce legislation to determine when credit card companies can deny payments:

> 32. Considers it likely that there will be a growing number of European companies whose activities are effectively dependent on being able to accept payments by card; considers it to be in the public interest to define objective rules describing the circumstances and procedures under which card payment schemes may unilaterally refuse acceptance;

In his intervention, Swedish MEP Christian Engstrom explained:

> Another example is when Visa, Mastercard and Paypal blocked payments to WikiLeaks. There was no legal basis and [it] should be seen as the three companies helped the US government to silence an inconvenient voice. It is not acceptable that private corporations have the power of [controlling] free speech.

In Honor of our Vets

Atheists In Foxholes (United States)

Atheists in foxholes, some say they are myths,
Creations of the mind who just don't exist.

Yet, they answered the call to defend, with great pride.
With reason their watchword, they bled and they died.

They took Saratoga from the British crown,
Secured America's freedom at the Battle of Yorktown.

From Sumter to Appomattox, fields flowed with their blood.
When the cannons grew silent, the flag proudly stood.

From the Marne to the Argonne, in trenches and tanks,
They defeated the Germans -- the whole world gave thanks.

They were bombed at Pearl Harbor, fought on to Berlin.
Many freethinking women served along with the men.

Still war keeps erupting -- Iraq, Bosnia, and Kosovo.
Where is the peace that eludes people so?

It is broken by tyrants who bear crosses and creeds,
That overshadow reason with hate and cruel deeds.

So atheists prevail until your work is complete.
Mothers mourn, children cry, and bigots plan your defeat.

By air, land, and sea, you answer freedom's call.
Without god or faith, you seek liberty for all.

Remember ... Remember ... The Fifth Of November

#OPVENDETTA

November 5, 2012. London. Family Portrait ;-D

Bigotry, Bullying, Suicide and the Tragedy of Youth

I’m going to tell you a story about a beautiful young man whom I will call Z.

Z is his first initial. In order to protect the privacy of his family I will not be using his full name.

Z realized at a very young age that he was sexually attracted to males … that he was gay. It wasn’t something he felt he should be ashamed of but he wasn’t open about it.

Unfortunately, despite our alleged enlightenment in the 21st century, bigotry reared it’s ugly head and Z paid a horrific price for his sexual orientation.

When Z was 15, in 2007, one day after school he was grabbed, dragged into his school washroom by a group of 4 older and bigger male students, and brutally assaulted for no other reason than he was gay.

The assault was so brutal that he lost hearing in one ear, his teeth were broken, and he almost lost one eye. The baseball bat and the bag of oranges that they used resulted in a broken pelvis and so much damage to the genitalia they had to be removed. Z lost consciousness during the assault.

He knew the boys who assaulted him and he knew why they assaulted him but he covered for them anyway. He told the police and doctors that the attack was his fault and he didn’t know the people who had done it.

To add insult to injury, his step-fathers discovery that he was gay led to him being thrown out of the house, 6 months later, at the tender age of 15.

He stayed with a gay friend and his family and completed his year of high school with them. All the while missing his family and brothers and friends and feeling very alone and abandoned.

His counsellor put him on Valium to help but he became addicted and started drinking to supplement the Valium. When the Doctors refused to prescribe more he went to other drugs and pills to ease his pain and addiction. When he tried to withdraw from the drugs the nightmares and horrors of what he had experienced flooded back so he started drinking regularly.

And then, finally, with the resilience of youth, managed to deal with that addiction as well.

In 2011, he reconnected with his mother and brothers again. Something which brought him a great deal of joy and happiness.

It took Z quite a while and a great deal of patient counselling to accept what had happened to him and he appeared to have accepted it.

In 2011, a friend who provided online suicide counselling to gay teenagers in crisis worked with him, encouraged him to go on Facebook and start connecting with friends.

Z seemed happy. He seemed to be accepting his life and working towards something better.

In Z’s own words:

I could fully redo the pelvis and set an artificial penis, but it's too expensive and of course, Michael refused to pay and my mom has no money, so I save money and maybe one day , I could have the operation ... who knows?

For the moment there are only big hugs between my partners and I, no need to explain I guess, but as long as I can see tenderness and affection into the eyes of Max, I am pleased ...

Above all, Tim, let me say a BIG, BIG thank you for staying there, having lost on sleep to back me up; being so friendly, sweet, kind and comprehensible ... Namaste Tim

And then one day, Z suddenly, quietly and efficiently took his life.

Today is the anniversary of Z’s death and Z’s friend, Tim, would like everyone to remember the serious damage that bullying, bigotry and hatred cause.

Especially to the young.

Much love to Z’s family and friends. May he continue to be the inspiration to all of you that I know he was.

For further information about Z's story you may contact:  zachsstory@gmail.com.